6He
spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree
planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit
thereon, and found none.

7Then said
he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three
years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find
none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8And he
answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year
also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9And if it bear
fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut
it down.

This is a very difficult parable. To
me it is. There are some who say that if the rapture
doesn't occur when the timing seems right, then
according to this parable it might mean that there is the
further delay of one year.

Then there are those who say it has to be this year
and they point to Elenin or Niburu. In fact I caught
myself thinking there was something to it. But what
if it is as much a dud as the Millennium Bug.
Remember back in the year 2000 when all the computers were
going to shut down and there was such a big scare?

I can hear it now. "Oh those crazy Christians
who are always looking for the rapture. Don't listen
to them. They always get so excited and then nothing
happens!"

It really is a possibility that there could be the
delay of one more year. 2012 would really stir up
the New Agers if the rapture occurred then. They'd
swear the Mayan calendar had more validity than the Bible.

What would the delay of one more year mean? Here
are some very real possibilities. Further collapse
of the economy. Huge numbers of layoffs. Bread
lines. Skyrocketing crime so bad it would make this
year seem idyllic. It would create an environment even
more receptive to welcoming a dictator. The
delay of one more year would allow for the destruction of
Damascus and even the Gog Magog war prior to the onset of
the seven year tribulation. Then also the delay of
one more year would probably bring about more bad weather,
more earthquakes, more unstable governments. I could
go on and on.

And then I pause to think. There is another
passage of scripture to consider. Matthew 24:37-39
says,

"37But
as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be.

38For
as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39And
knew not until the flood came, and took them all away;
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

OK. Maybe I was worried about nothing.
Looks like things aren't going to get much worse
before the rapture. People will go on eating,
drinking marrying and giving in marriage just like nothing
is going on right up till the time of the rapture.